Mechanical Tyranny: Illusion
by TealDragonsUnite
Summary: A loud rush of air greeted her. And then pain. Fiery pain. (Sequel to Conflict)
1. Chapter 1

Her first mission. Ever. The stealth fighter couldn't help but be a little nervous. Of course, she'd been talking Alpha's ear off for the entire ten-hour flight, but that didn't ease any of her worries. She'd been flying above dense jungle for the majority of her trip. Crashing would be bad. Probably why the enemy had set up their headquarters there.

" _Vision 2-7-3-3 to base. Target is within range. Initiating radio silence for approximately two hours. Vision out."_

" _Rodger… be careful out there, Tera."_

Milliseconds after the last transmission, Tera cut her radio and everything else that could even remotely be used to track her. It was instinct at this point. Same with her cloaking device and the extra cooling system in her engines. It didn't even matter that it was broad daylight - she was completely invisible regardless.

All she had to do was go in, drop the biologics, and get out.

After circling a few times to mentally prepare herself, she caught sight of what she was supposed to be bombing… a bunch of small structures. Full of unconverted humans, no doubt. But they also didn't have any weapons. Thank Chrysler. She re-angled her flight path, more than confident in her ability to take the place out.

She'd only be visible on radar for a couple seconds, when she opened her bomb bay. A little glitch. It wouldn't impact anything.

She was directly above the cluster. She let the panels underneath her slide open, dropping the weapon before quickly closing them again. A small cloud of white powder billowed up from the drop site. Mission accomplished. Now to get the heck out of there.

A loud rush of air greeted her. And then pain. Fiery pain. She couldn't feel her wing.

" _MAYDAY! TRANSMITTING COORDINATES! I'M GOING DOWN!"_

xXx

As soon as Arkanu had heard about the plane crash, she got to work. It wasn't often she got the chance to help or possibly pull parts from what she liked to call an 'outsider', especially not airfaring vehicles. Finding the coordinates of the craft's fall, she had grabbed her tool kit, beckoned her two droids to follow her, and trekked to the point of the crash.

"Bad idea, Ark," the strangest of beings walked after her, struggling to find good footholds in the thick Brazilian jungle. It was humanoid, but robotic, and towered over Arkanu threefold. "If this is a government plane they'll have bugs all over it."

"I should have told you to get supplies from town," the bird-like alien grumbled, helping one of the droids as it got stuck in the undergrowth.

"And waste energon on milk runs? No thank you."

"I didn't get to chose that my teammate runs on something with such limited supply. You'd do better surrendering."

The robot behind her tensed. "I'd be reduced to the scrap every other citizen on this blasted planet is."

"Viperflash," Arkanu pointed a talon to a charred line of wreckage cutting into the forest floor before her. This was no doubt the site where the plane went down. It was immediately apparent that the plane was not a civilian. Its angular lines and black paint all too clearly belonged to a stealth aircraft.

Taking one glance at the crash site, the bot following Arkanu slammed a huge hand down to block the avian and her droids. " _That_ doesn't look good."

"Whether for parts or for a patient, it has to be investigated," the bird shrugged, climbing over Viperflash's fingers and into the scar of earth. Careful not to step on either of the two droids in front of her, Viperflash followed reluctantly.

"Still alive, as far as I can tell," Arkanu said, inspecting the craft with a keen eye. "What do you think?"

"Salvageable. We can't do much for it with our medical supplies. Just leave it for Them to figure out."

"Not happening. It's bad off… I'm bringing it to base. Let me check it over for trackers and bugs. You help H and Skid gather what bits and bobs broke off in the crash."

Viperflash was having none of it, but grabbed a nearby piece of wreckage anyways. "To base? You're going to get us all killed!"

"You're a mechanical medic, and I'm a medical mechanic. This is our job."

"At this point our job is to survive and avoid being captured. If we're going to accomplish that, we have to leave this thing be."

"You're no better than a Decepticon."

The argument was won. For now. Arkanu knew it by the disgruntled look her partner returned to her. The next few hours were spent picking up the pieces of the rubble, stripping the craft of anything and everything that looked suspicious, and dragging it back to a bunker-type structure. It was then and only then that the two droids, Viperflash, and Arkanu started repairing what they could on the plane with their limited supplies.


	2. Chapter 2

_Reactivating. . . ._

Ouch.

Wait… how was she even still _alive?_ Unless this was death was. If it was, there was no way she was in the same place as Omega.

No. She couldn't think like that. And no, she was definitely not dead. The pinch of some kind of tool confirmed that for her. Great. She was in a repair ward.

Tera almost didn't want to open her eyes… but she did anyways. And then there was a giant robot. She exclaimed in surprise, unable to form words in her half-functioning mental state. Her hyperfocus immediately activated, and, without thinking, she tried to analyze anything and everything around her that she could.

This was the enemy's building. She'd been captured.

She tried to move, but she couldn't. Her cloaking device was inoperable, if it was even still on her. GPS? Radio? Emergency tracking? Gone. She growled in frustration, doing anything she could to keep from showing fear… that was what they preyed on, wasn't it?

"Don't bother moving," the robot said gruffly, patting Tera's side less than gently.

Another voice came from somewhere beyond Tera's field of view. "Your hydraulics are shot… I'll be able to repair them, but not for a while still. We're lacking in parts… and to get them now would be suicide. I should've sent Viper to get some a week ago."

"And waste energon? Not likely."

Ignoring the robot's statement, the owner of the voice came into view. A skinny little bipedal avian, but with claws rather than wings. "You have a name?"

She couldn't speak. Not at first, anyways. " _I-I do not know what you want but-"_ she paused, contemplating for a second before attempting to start over. " _I-"_ Another pause. " _Why can I not-error,"_ She sighed, struggling to get her speech systems functioning, but she couldn't divert enough power to do so. She couldn't even run a systems check… though she was almost glad for that. " _I do not care if you can understand. You will not get any intel from me._ "

"Intel?" The bird creature laughed, "Not really what we're after. Just so long as you don't turn us in, we're here to help you, and that's all. You crashed, we dragged you here to fix you. End of story. Now, about your name…"

Tera was still quiet, but this time more confused than anything. The bird thing understood her, first off. Second, the strange team shouldn't be willing to help _her_. They shouldn't be helping the enemy… but she couldn't even think to articulate it. Fear was beginning to set in again. " _Tera,_ " she finally answered, " _But how… why… I do not understand."_

"Relax," the robot spoke again, noticing the plane tensing. "You're fine."

The bird glared at her companion, gently stroking Tera's nose. "In due time you'll understand. For now, just know you're in safe hands, Tera. My name's Arkanu, and my associate is Viperflash." A flurry of beeping erupted from Arkanu's side, and the bird glanced down. "And these two are H-64 and Skid," she added quickly.

She wanted to bite, or growl, or _something_ , but couldn't bring herself to… but then again, she wasn't even capable of moving at the moment. Was this what dogs felt like when they were being petted? She almost liked it- no. No, she didn't. She wouldn't allow it. " _...I thought we were the only side with AI…"_

"For the most part, yes, but there are a few of us with AI," she said, chirping to one of the droids to get back to work. She kept rubbing Tera's nose, knowing that most aircraft enjoyed it, and she had felt Tera loosen some of her tension with her stroking.

There was no way the plane was letting her guard down… no matter how much she liked the petting. Wait, no she didn't. Not in the slightest. She tried desperately to run a system scan again, but to no avail. " _What are they doing? How… how are you even understanding me?_ "

"Cleaning you up and making you look less and less like a wrecked plane," Arkanu shrugged. "And when you're around droids long enough, you pick up on Droidspeak. As the daughter of mechanics, it's in my blood."

" _Droidspeak? It has a name?_ " Her mind was pulled in a million directions at once, most of them resulting in dead ends due to low power. She wanted to figure out anything… anything at all… but more importantly, she needed to know how bad the damage was. She couldn't even feel the ground under her tires. It was quickly explained, however, when she saw the remainder of her landing gear laid out on the floor. She was propped up on something. At least her visor was still intact, even if it was somewhat cracked. Hiding expressions would be useful for once. " _...but what is a droid?_ "

"You're a droid of a sort," Arkanu said, climbing onto the aircraft's battered wing to inspect it. "But usually they're smaller personal robots designed with a specific task or set of tasks."

She bit her tongue - something she'd recently learned to do instead of crying out - hoping that the unwelcome weight wouldn't be there long. At least she knew that her wing was still attached to her. Or part of it. It took a minute before she could speak again. " _Personal robots… like slaves?"_

Arkanu winced when she felt the plane steel herself beneath her. "I'll be quick," she reassured. "Ahhh… personal robots… a lot of people treat them like slaves. That's one of the reasons I'm here… respect for droids is a much needed ideal, and it's not easy to come by." After tenderly inspecting Tera's wing, she slid off and patted one of her two smaller companions kindly. "I don't like to think of these two under me, but equal to myself. The only reason I even tell them what to do is that they _need_ me to. You just can't change the fact a robot has directives."

"Please," Viperflash scoffed from attempting to repair the stealth plane's busted hydraulic line, "You don't see me walking around obsessed with directives, now do you?" Finding her efforts to be futile, she went to hammering out one of Tera's wings to see if she could get it to straighten any. In her eyes there was no need to be gentle.

Tera made a noise somewhere between a squeak and a growl, trying in vain to get away again… but upon remembering the futility of such actions, she cursed. " _That HURTS!"_ she managed to snarl, though her speech began breaking down even further into a mess of syllables and her efforts at more cursing.

"You want to fly again? Because if you don't, I could just let you sit here and rust," Viper grinned, "Does everyone on this Primus forsaken planet need to act so _primitive?_ "

" _PRIMITIVE? You are the one living in the jungle!"_ Her diction was becoming more garbled by the second - it was all she could do to keep the system operational.

Viper opened her mouth to speak, but Arkanu beat her to it. "That's beside the point. Right now, let's try to get your vocal processor back online, shall we?" She said it in a pleasant enough way, but the question was obviously directed towards Viperflash who in turn rolled her optics but thankfully didn't respond. Arkanu snaked around to carefully open a panel near Tera's cockpit. The birdlike creature didn't ask before diving right into the circuitry.

She squeaked in fright. " _Nonononono what are you-"_ she said, unable to finish her sentence before her speech gave out completely.

The bird-creature continued to work unphased. "Just a second…" she asked one of her droids to fetch her a tool, and he brought it to her quickly. "Thanks. Alright… I think I've got it. Try talking now."

"I don't-" Tera paused, almost in shock. "...it's normal…" she couldn't help but allow herself a slight smile. She didn't sound like a drone for once… almost human? No… but at least she sounded female again.

Arkanu allowed herself a smug smile, but tried to keep that pride out of her voice. "I know a thing or two. The only thing is that those systems are still going to be touchy. My handiwork is good, but with my limited resources they aren't at all perfect."

"It's always been touchy. They… they don't fix things like that," she admitted quietly.

"It's a real shame, you've got a lovely voice," Viperflash said, for once not snarky. "They aren't the nicest sentient scrap around."

Tera almost blushed, but forced herself to ignore the feeling. Even if she did, it wouldn't show through her paint. "...since when is the military nice? Why would you care? We're all drones."

"If our planet thought the same way, as would I be," the robot explained briefly, "Just because you're meant to do one thing doesn't mean that's all you are. We may be mechanical, and defined by our programming, but it doesn't mean we don't have souls."

"Which is why I'm in this, too," Arkanu added. "To fight for the rights of sentient beings - mechanical, holographic, and biological."

"Holographic?" Tera asked, even more confused than before. "AI are barely even sentient… here, anyways…" she caught sight of the birdlike creature again, forcing herself to close her eyes to keep from targeting her, even if she couldn't act upon the instinct. Organics were just _too small_. "...the Federation's gonna terminate us all if they win…"

"The Federation isn't like Them; they take into account morals and sentience," Arkanu said bitterly, "But if I'm honest, no doubt they'd have to deactivate _some_ of you. But to say all of you - even _most_ of you is wrong."

"How do I know? How do _you_ know?" she paused in an attempt to find the right words, an automatic system scan suddenly overrunning her thoughts. She didn't want to know the results, instead trying to activate her engines with the newfound power. Nothing but pain came out of it. "The Federation won't win anyway!"

Arkanu sighed a heavy sigh. "I can't say they will, I can't say they won't. But I have hope for the Federation yet," she admitted, "But I prefer to keep the subject of war reserved only when it's in progress."

Tera froze, unable to think of anything else. Humans didn't like war, she knew that much. "...I don't know what else there is…"

"Lots of things, if you give yourself the time to-"

"...just let me out of here."

"I promise you, I'm working on it," Arkanu answered, almost defensively, "I just need supplies, and your superiors haven't made runs easy. Viper was _supposed_ to go two days ago."

It was at that moment that Viperflash's body seemed to melt and shatter then, as smoothly as she unfolded, the robot folded into a truck - an ordinary truck with a scowl on her face. "And risk being spotted and stuck in this wretched form?" Arkanu glared and rolled her eyes as Viper turned and drove away.

Tera looked at Arkanu, to the disappearing truck, and then back to Arkanu. "...what the heck is she."

"Cybertronian," the bird shrugged. "Alien."

She bit her tongue in repressed fear, unable and unwilling to understand. It didn't matter - they were going to have their way with her regardless of what she thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Not much more than a month later did Viperflash and Arkanu retrieve and repair what of Tera they could, often using makeshift methods for temporary fixes. One of her engines was still beyond repair - the missile had hit it directly and melted the majority of its components - but at the very least she wouldn't be in much pain otherwise. Tera herself struggled to stay awake a lot of the time, often napping whenever the repairs didn't hurt as bad, or trying to figure out what was happening on the other side of the war.

The Federation wasn't evil.

If anything, they _were_ the opposite of Them… and maybe, just maybe, Tera would be considered a person among them. She didn't dare think it more than once or twice. It was too good to be true. But then again, she could have also been left as a smouldering pile of scrap in the jungle.

Arkanu having done what she could to fix the plane, it was finally time for the last repair. The strange alien bird had been careful not to repair the aircraft's hydraulics in fear that she might make a break for it, or worse. But, as with all things, there was a time she could no longer avoid it.

"Hold her wings so she doesn't hurt herself," Arkanu ordered Viperflash, the green and gold Cybertronian complying without hesitation. That done, the bird busied herself with opening Tera's control panel and inspecting the damage. "This'll only take a few minutes."

Tera couldn't breathe, struggling fruitlessly against Viperflash. Her fear of the robot had only grown, finding that she could not only transform into a truck, but also a strange organic-looking creature, and Arkanu was the one to bring that form to reality. It wasn't right. And now she was being pinned by this same robot. "I'm not gonna hurt myself," she said somewhat nervously. "I… I just wanna move again." But, of course, there was no point. She hadn't moved in so long she didn't even know if she would be able to. She wanted to find an RC pigeon to chew on.

She could've sworn she heard Viperflash respond, but her consciousness had slipped mid-thought.

 _Hydraulics restored._

Before she knew it she'd forced her way out of Viperflash's grip, snarling as she went straight for Arkanu - but all she managed to get was a mouthful of feathers before she found herself collapsed on the ground in a mess of hydraulic fluid and broken glass. The force of the fall had shattered her visor, revealing her neon red, glitching eye display.

The bird before her took a moment to recover, tenderly nursing her tail where several feathers had been torn from her. Seeing that no serious injuries had occurred, she stepped towards the seething but now paralyzed aircraft, very carefully hoisting herself up onto her nose.

"Your eyes," she breathed to herself. She could tell the plane was mostly incoherent, but forced Tera's cockpit open. It took her a minute to figure out the problem, but by tinkering she successfully got the worst of the glitching to go away. Climbing back out and sitting atop Tera, she asked, "Better now?"

" _I…_ it… get off... I might hurt you again," She struggled to get up, but was only able to shift slightly. Words were hard to come by, trying to get the feathers out of her mouth and reclaim logic at the same time. "I can't tell. It just scares people."

" _Please_ ," Arkanu said, stroking the plane softly, casting a thankful yet dangerous glare towards Viperflash. "I've faced worse. Besides, there's not much you can do now that your hydraulics blew _again_."

Tera's gaze was focused solely on the ground, trying to ignore the fact that she was being petted again. "...but you're just gonna fix them. And then I'll try attacking you again. I… I haven't killed anything in so long I can't-" she broke into a mess of droidspeak, even if what she was saying didn't exactly register as 'words.'

"You might have to listen to your directive, but you don't have to obey it," Viperflash's voice shot out from a now sitting position behind Tera.

Arkanu shrugged, "As difficult as it is to believe, her words do have some truth. Killing's in your coding, but so are a lot of other things. Focusing on the less violent directives can at least reduce your instinct."

She growled in frustration. "I can't! They deleted everything-" she shut her eyes, trying in vain to get her hyperfocus to turn off. Arkanu was not prey. "...if it happens again I'll go after Viper. She can defend herself."

"I'd enjoy the challenge. It's been too long since I've bashed an opponent in battle," Viper grinned, leaning back confidently.

Arkanu nodded, "That would also work. There are ways to get around things like a war directive. _Deleting_ everything else, though… what idiot got a hold of your programming? I'd like to get my talons around his neck and talk some sense into him."

"Already decapitated him once… and they brought him back in two weeks and three days. He's the only one that can read my code, anyways."

"Should teach someone else to," Arkanu hissed. "Feel free to kill him again for me next time you meet him - and you don't hear me saying that every day."

"I'll never stop killing him," she said definitively, "…but I don't know how to read code… I can't _teach_ someone. A lot of people already tried and they don't understand." She paused, trying to think. "...do I have to go back there?"

Arkanu sighed heavily. "If you want to fly again, yes… but they're probably already looking for you, and it's only a matter of time before they find you. I'll do what I can to re-repair your hydraulics, but I can't guarantee Viper and I won't have to leave before that's finished."

She winced at the thought. "But the Federation could figure it out, couldn't they? I don't know _how_ I could help, but-"

"We don't know when the Federation is coming. I would never clear you to fly without proper repairs by a mechanic with actual resources, and besides that I know for a fact we couldn't get enough fuel to keep you going," she interrupted. "It's hard enough finding even unrefined energon for Viper, and while my own food supply isn't an issue, every time either of us attempt to go into town is another risk of being found."

Tera looked away, quiet for a moment. "They'll find _you_ if they find me… you tampered with me and they're gonna know someone's out here when they see it." She bit her tongue, her eyes still glitching occasionally. "Just… do whatever you're gonna do. It's not like I can fight or anything."

"They already know something's out here," Arkanu pointed out, "They sent you to find out what, and now you're missing. Still, we've evaded their detection in the past. With any luck, we can do it again. If not, it sounds like we'll have a _lovely_ time being converted."

"Or confined to our vehicle modes," Viper spat.

"...I… I hope not…" but even as she said those words, she felt like a traitor herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Thankfully, it didn't take long for Arkanu and Viperflash to repatch Tera's hydraulics, but to the plane it felt like time had slowed. She felt exposed without her visor, and, as the minutes ticked by, dread and guilt filled her thoughts. What was going to happen when They found her? Deactivation? She didn't know. As long as she wasn't ripped apart again like when she was still an experiment. Even death would be better than that.

Half the time she couldn't focus on what anyone was saying, but she could tell that they were almost done because of Viper's tight grip on her wings. She was ready this time.

Tera tried her hardest to keep from losing her grip on reality, but it was no use. Her directive overrode her the moment her lines were completely patched.

When she finally realized what was happening, her engines were burning in pain and it felt like she'd somehow shoved her bad wing into the ground, but she was standing on her own wheels… and she could move. She inched forwards a couple inches to confirm it for herself, not daring to do anything else until she knew where Arkanu was.

"Easy," the bird spoke, gently appearing from behind her, though it was obvious she was cautious.

"I… I'm not gonna-" she closed her eyes and clenched her teeth when she saw her, trying not to let herself attack. Viper caught her again before she could. A few moments later, she felt like she could breathe again. Barely. "I hunted birds when I was on that base… I… I don't wanna hurt you… I shouldn't _be_ like this..."

"I know, it's in your programming," Arkanu spoke evenly and without fear, "If I ever get a chance, I _will_ speak to your programmer and see if there's anything they can do. Unfortunately code isn't my specialty."

"Try talking to a wall. You'd do more than if you talked to him," she snarled, half of her being trying to get out of Viper's grip again. She tried to keep a lid on it, but she couldn't. "LET GO!"

"Not until I know you'll behave," Viper hissed.

Arkanu raised a scaled hand, "Let her go."

The robot did so. As soon as she did, Tera looked dumbfounded and somewhat confused, not moving as if she forgot what she was doing. Another moment later, she rolled slightly towards the exit. "...is it safe to go out there?"

"Be my guest. At this point it's no more dangerous than in here…"

She nodded slightly, gently pushing the door open with what little strength she had left. She'd muster more if she went crazy again.

The jungle looked so different on the ground. Dark green trees littered the scenery, blocking visibility for more than a few hundred feet or so. She turned and looked back at the building she came from - it was nearly perfectly camouflaged to blend in with its surroundings. It was a good place to hide, that was for certain.

Without a second thought, she hopped slightly and tore a low-hanging branch off of one of the trees. At least she could keep herself from biting other things… regardless of how bad sap tasted. Yuck. Still better than blood, but yuck. She bit down on it anyways. She paused in rare complacency, glad she could focus on something else besides killing for a moment… there was rushing water in the distance.

Taking her branch with her, she struggled to find an opening where her wings would fit through the trees, but once she did, the river greeted her in all its fury. There were things jumping in it. Living things? Omega said something about animals called fish before… she investigated further, putting her nose at the bank and barely letting the water touch…

A sharp pain forced her to retreat. What? Water wasn't supposed to hurt. She had to see…

Another sharp pain. _What the heck?_

It'd probably hurt to try again, but she had to know what was going on. A silvery fish with huge teeth leaped out of the water, biting down solidly on her nose before realizing she wasn't food and dropping back into the river again.

 _...that… that's me_ , she realized, backing away from the crazed school of fish and moving to go back to the bunker, disturbed by her thoughts. She didn't have any more energy to keep exploring, but she found a thing to chew on, so it was worth it.

Arkanu had been watching, leaning up against a thick tree trunk and smiling in amusement. "You're lucky you're made of metal. Had you been a fleshy creature and those piranha would've eaten you alive."

She startled a little at her presence, biting down even harder on the branch in surprise instead of vocalizing. She had to will herself to let it go after a couple moments of painful debate. "I didn't think organics had the war directive."

"It's not the war-" Arkanu was cut off from her laughter with a startled yelp from Viperflash. Without even thinking, the bird leapt to her toes and charged towards the sound, leaving Tera still standing by the river, confused. She hesitated for a moment, but then slowly made her way back to the bunker.

Something had found them.


	5. Chapter 5

A mechanical beast had silently dropped from nowhere on top of Viper, who hardly had the time to transform before she was struck down. A sharp needlepoint spike jutting from the tail of the attacker pierced the Cybertronian's neck, and Viper almost instantaneously ceased to move.

Arkanu was no difficult target, and her two droids even easier. The creature grabbed the bird with both its clawed hands and turned towards Tera, catching her in its gaze. The voice that emanated from the thing was possibly more mechanical than her own. "Surrender."

"...let them go…"

The creature slammed Arkanu into the ground, making the bird screech. "Surrender now in the best interest of your companion."

She bit her tongue, wincing in almost sympathy. "...don't hurt her anymore. It doesn't matter anyway. It's not like I can fight."

"Rogues procured. Transmitting coordinates to the Cybertronian now," the beast radioed to some unknown source. Then it plucked Arkanu up again, keeping its claws wrapped tightly around her waist. Eyes fixed warily on Tera, it spoke again, "Come with me."

She didn't have a choice but to obey - she followed as best as she could, but it proved difficult with the jungle terrain and her hydraulics threatening to give at any moment. She could barely even comprehend what was happening, even if she knew all too well what it was. This thing was with Them.

It was well after dark when they finally got to a clearing, and while a couple off-road forklifts tried to assess the damage done to Tera, the majority of the other vehicles were focused on either the raptor's catch or a small control station set up on the edge of the clearing - Tera soon found out what they were waiting on. A pair of helicopters buzzed into view several minutes later, carrying the still unresponsive Viperflash below them in a chained net. She'd lost sight of Arkanu.

"Let… let them go. They didn't do anything." She tried not to snarl at whoever was touching her bad wing, instead moving slightly away. Another forklift stopped her.

"They'll get what they deserve. You're safe now."

"They _helped_ me. Isn't there some kind of rule that-"

"They might've been helping you, but they were also getting information from you at the same time. They're spies."

"What are They gonna do to them…?"

"I don't know."

Tera had been trying to relocate where exactly the raptor had taken Arkanu, but all she could see was a Nighthawk and the two helicopters, which were still in the process of landing. But where did the Nighthawk come from? "Why is he here?"

The forklift looked confused for a moment, looking in the same direction Tera was. "Oh, him? He's the one that found you."

"...but he was an organic metal thing or something."

"He's a shapeshifter. They call them Cybertronians."

Tera was silent for a while after that, more so out of fear than anything else. The forklift talking to her and the others looking her over had been called to do other things, so she was eventually left alone… but she still couldn't find Arkanu. She was only allowed to move around the outskirts of the clearing, but even that got difficult after a while.

In fact, she was so engrossed in trying to find the bird that she didn't notice how much time had gone by. Or that the forklifts had come back, putting thick straps under her wings and fuselage. When she realized what was happening, she tried her best to fight it, but was swiftly rewarded with a slash to one of her exposed hydraulic lines. She shrieked, collapsing to the ground before tension on the straps caught her. She was in the air… thanks to a helicopter.

Mere minutes later, she was thankfully on the ground again. On a military base. Other helicopters were following suit after the helicopter carrying her - they must have been sent afterwards - along with the Nighthawk that was also somehow a Cybertronian like Viperflash. How could he betray his own kind? She didn't know if she wanted to know or not. She still couldn't find Arkanu. Maybe she was inside one of the helicopters, strange as the thought was.

A couple transport planes were already on the tarmac, and the forklifts on the base wasted no time in getting Tera over to one - quickly checking to make sure she would be stable enough to handle the trip, they put her up the ramp and tied her landing gear down. As the doors shut she could see another swarm of forklifts surrounding Viperflash… the robot transformed into her truck form.

She still couldn't find Arkanu.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony couldn't believe it. He stared at the computer screen in a combination of joy and horror… two emotions which he didn't even know existed for the longest time.

"What now?"

"They found Tera."

Rose tried to suppress a look of almost disappointment. "...so what's happening with that?"

"They're sending her back here."

The other forklift pushed the computer screen away from Tony, looking at it for herself. "...there's a couple of transfer orders here, too. Prisoners… I hope Icarus gets to see these before they actually show up."

"Wait, what is it?"

"You wouldn't…" she paused, glancing at him. "No. You wouldn't get it."

"I'm not _that_ incompetent."

"Feel free to read it if you want," she said, almost shrugging. "But I promise you won't understand."

He looked over the document she had pulled up. "...fine. You're right."

"I don't get it, either," she said, somewhat amused.

"Hopefully Icarus does..."

xXx

It wasn't long before two transport aircraft requested permission to land - they did so one after the other, keeping one of the two runways clear for safety purposes, but there was a tension in the air unlike any other. The prisoners were an organic alien and a Cybertronian, newly fitted with a transformation inhibitor… and the state Tera was in was a mystery, other than that she had to be immobilized for her own safety. No one knew what they were getting into.

As was his job, Icarus was the first one of the first on the scene. Sleep as of late had been hard to come by, and dead tired as he was it was imperative he stay conscious longer. The plane cast his eyes towards the transport aircraft, trying desperately to hold back his fatigue and anxieties. Whatever it was that happened next, it would be his responsibility to deal with it.

The ramp to the first transport lowered, and greeting them was an immobilized Tera, her eyes ablaze with fury. "Welcome home," Icarus greeted almost bitterly.

"G'day, mate," she retorted. "What the heck did they do with Arkanu?" The plane barely even noticed that Tony had quietly made his way over to her, doing his best to look her over before bringing her down the ramp - she was light enough, so he didn't need any help. Rose had made herself scarce for whatever reason, so he didn't exactly have help either way.

From the remaining damage, it was very clear where exactly Tera had been shot - one of her wings could almost be categorized as a total loss. But she'd also been tampered with. No crashed plane would be able to even remotely be moved.

"Who?"

"The one your goons slagged!" A truck broke through from the second ramp, a broken whirring coming from somewhere within her. The Cybertronian. It took a moment for them to get her back under control.

Icarus grimaced, eying Tera, "So you actually _befriended_ an organic without killing them this time?"

"You can't kill if you can't move, _sir_ ," she said, sarcasm abundant, even if the comment obviously stung. A lot. Her eyes, which almost seemed normal until that point, went back to glitching. "So what's gonna happen to her? Can they just have asylum here or something?"

"For now nothing will," Icarus sighed, but his eyes glared at the plane in front of him. "Your alien frien-"

"Viperflash," the truck hissed.

" _Viperflash_ will have free roam of the base once she's been assessed as a non-threat. I'd assume the same will happen to the other."

"But she's organic… we can't have something like that running around. It's a safety hazard," Tony said, almost confused.

"For her, maybe, but I trust she can watch out for herself," Icarus commented, "She lived in a jungle for who knows how long."

"No… I'm talking about conversion. That's what They're gonna want done."

"I _won't_ allow that," Icarus' voice rose even beyond its usual volume, "It's a non-option."

"Do you even know what you're saying? That's… not how this base works."

"It is now."

"But you have superiors too!"

Icarus stopped, his tired eyes turned into a dead stare, "They can fire me for all I care."

"...that doesn't mean you'll be able to leave base." There was an uncertainty in the air Tony was struggling to deal with… something wasn't right. "I shouldn't be arguing with you but… do I need to recommend you be relieved?"

"I _dare_ you."

"...this is exactly what Jake did… I hope you know that. You need to go back to your hangar."

"Oh, so I suppose you'll have to murder me now too?"

"Wait… what?" Tera had been watching, not exactly having a choice in the matter. She couldn't move as it was.

The forklift glanced at her. "I had orders."

"...you killed him?"

Tony stayed silent for a while. "He was hurting you."

"... _he_ … was hurting _me?_ " Her disposition immediately shifted, and she practically growled. "And you didn't?"

"No. I helped you."

"Yeah. You turned me into this. Do you know what it's _like_ to have every system in you ripped out one by one and rebuilt? While you're still _awake?_ And… and you killed him, too… how many others did you…?"

"Tera, that's _not_ -"

"Are you gonna do the same thing to Icarus? Or me? I'm probably not even _worth_ saving according to you."

"You're different. All I've been doing this _entire_ time is following Their orders."

"They should order you to deactivate."

"Grow up."

" _No."_

Tony practically growled, his eyes blazing with rage. "We'll have a _long_ time to talk while I'm restoring you from the ground up. _Again_. As for you, Icarus, as soon as we're able to communicate with Them, you _will_ be removed from your position. Until that happens, I'm placing a 24-hour emergency suspension of duties on you. No fuel. Just go back to your hangar… it'll be easier that way."

"It'd be better if you'd have stayed dead," Icarus snarled, "Then I'd only be dealing with _one_ insane vehicle. In the meantime, what are you going to do to stop me from running this place until I run myself dry?"

"Well, for starters, _they_ just saw all of this happen." He gestured towards a small group of F-35s looking in their direction. "They'll spread the word. And Tera? _You_ are coming with me."

"Not like I have a choice," she fumed, still trying to fight even if she couldn't move on her own - she was light enough to be pushed, but she resented it with all her being. She wished Arkanu had just left her in the jungle.


	7. Chapter 7

For once, Tera was silent out of choice. Her mind was reeling, unable to get a foothold in reality for more than a moment at a time. Her internal systems were in knots, struggling to deal with the influx of the pain of being disassembled. All she could think about was the first time this had happened, when she'd been made blind and deaf just so Tony didn't have to deal with her. Now he didn't have to do that. Still paralyzed from the rescue crews that retrieved her, she felt like a living arts-and-crafts project.

He pulled another part out of her good wing, causing her to wince slightly. She was going to lose the other one for sure, even if he hadn't begun removing it yet, but several pieces of the less damaged wing were decently salvageable. At least there'd be something to build off of once he got the broken things out of the way… but the thought of being whole again was out of her grasp.

Tera tried to think, but couldn't. She wanted more than anything to be able to move again… but after a couple days, bits and pieces of her were placed in an orderly fashion on the ground and on a couple workbenches, including her landing gear and the majority of one of her engine's components. She didn't even have the capacity to feel sick at the prospect.

"...you know They wouldn't like you spending so much time on that scrap pile."

Tony practically jumped. New voice? He didn't look away from what he was doing, even if he knew he ought to. "Sorry, but who are you?"

A brilliant red sportscar purred into the building. "Medic number 664-95. Callsign: Knockout… but enough formalities. You have a _guest_ here that I happen to know a lot about. Where is she?"

"What, the bird or the other one?"

He rolled his eyes. "The other one."

"Containment hangar 25-B."

"And that is… where?"

"You'll find it eventually." He finally stopped what he was doing to take a look at the new vehicle. _Way_ too pristine to be a normal medic… and a _car_ of all things. It was almost laughable. "You might want to be careful. She's not nice. You might get a dent."

"Are you like this to all your superiors?" he muttered, rolling over to the computer to pull up a map of the base. "And speaking of superiors, he'll be here in a few minutes."

"The only superior I have to listen to is Rose," Tony said casually. "And since you're a medic you'll have to, too."

"I'm in a different class," he practically growled, trying to pay attention to what he was researching. "But They didn't say you were going to be this annoying."

"Normally I'm not, but you insulted my project." Tera contributed a number of pointed curses to the end of Tony's sentence, directed towards no one in particular. The sound of roaring jets outside just made her even more livid.

"I'm gonna do more than that in a minute." Knockout's engine revved, eyes blazing as he quickly gave up on his task.

"But if you do, your paint will get scratched. You can't even grab anything to attack with," he said, picking up a screwdriver in demonstration.

His expression softened. "I have better ways. Would _you_ like to become the experiment? I can arrange it."

"I already died once."

"Oh, you have no _idea_ -"

"I hope you're not-" the jet that entered the hanger let out a strangled gasp once he saw Tera. His eyes looked away from the wrecked plane and towards Knockout and Tony. Recovering, he found his voice once more. "What _is_ that scrap heap?"

The jet was the new head of the base. His paint depicted it all too clearly. "Stealth fighter… my project. She was just recovered from the field. I could probably have her up and running again in a couple weeks if I can get the parts."

Knockout looked almost relieved that the plane had entered the room, but took the opportunity that presented itself regardless. "Is it really worth saving if it failed _that_ badly?"

"I would _like_ to fix her, yes. She's smarter than she acts."

"If it doesn't _act_ smart then what's the point?" the jet hissed.

"With all due respect, if you're arguing _that_ , then you don't know the reputation of this base… or the shortage of planes right now. She was shot down because of a mechanical failure, so if I could diagnose it, then-"

"You're wasting time and resources. This project of yours _will_ be decommissioned or I will have _you_ decommissioned as well. I'd weigh your options carefully."

Tony's eyes darted to Tera, then back to the jet. "...give me until tonight. Shutdown sequences on stealth planes are complicated, and cleanup will take a while."

"I'm _alive_ ," Tera finally managed to say, struggling to find words. "I know I'm AI... but I'm not just a _thing_."

"Well, yes. You _are_ alive, but soon you won't be," Knockout said. "That's life."

The new jet nodded, "As soon as Knockout finishes his current duties, he'll assist you in deactivating it."

"Of course. I'll get that taken care of right away," Knockout said, nodding slightly and exiting the hangar - obviously he was still unsure about where he was going.

"He won't be able to do much… her protocols are unique. I'm the only one that knows how they work. It'd be easier if I did the deactivation process on my own."

"Knockout's dealt with more complex machines before, and you did say cleanup was an issue. The faster this _thing_ is out of the way, the faster all of us can move onto more pressing concerns."

Tony glanced at Tera again. She was all but dead to the world, staring blankly at the wall. When her eyes were visible among the glitches, anyways. "Speaking of more pressing concerns, there _is_ an organic on this base that needs to be handled. I'm not certified to do conversions."

The expression of the jet changed into one of brief concern. "I _know_ what needs to be done. The organic will, rest assured, be taken care of." His voice sounded almost defensive. "Enough wasting time! We both have things to do."

The forklift refrained from rolling his eyes. "Yep. That, we do," he said, picking up a piece of Tera's landing gear as the jet all but stormed out of the hangar.

"...just kill me now…" Tera was quiet about her request, her voice glitching with tired emotion. "There's no point… maybe in the other place it'll be better."

"Other place? What other place?" He hesitated, putting down the piece of landing gear he was carrying and grabbing a cutting torch instead.

"...where Omega went."

"That's for humans."

"But then where-" Tony had a couple of her side panels open, the heat of the torch unbearable, even if she couldn't get out of its path. She tried to finish her question, but found that she couldn't. He'd taken her voice.

"I can't have you talking right now. It'll make it more difficult." And with that, he found a ramp suited to her size and turned up the flame of the torch.


	8. Chapter 8

It took a few more minutes than Knockout would have liked, but he eventually found the hangar containing the Cybertronian. He should've known from the sound of the engine revving angrily from within.

This was going to be fun.

He slid the door open just enough to allow himself through, unaware of where exactly she was going to be, quickly driving inside and closing it. The lights were off, and his headlights didn't do the situation much justice. Where was the light switch, for Primus's sake? "Alright, sweetheart, I know you're in here. I have a bargain you can't refuse. Literally."

"You disgust me. I'd rather be melted down for scrap than accept some deal from the likes of you," the vehicle within spat, eyes glowering and engine roaring.

"That _is_ certainly possible," he purred, transforming into his humanoid form. "But what if I told you that you'd be allowed to exist normally? You'll probably have to scan another form, of course, and prove your loyalty over a while." He paused for a moment, finally managing to find the light switch. He casually flipped it on. "Tell me, are you an autobot or a decepticon?"

The prisoner's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because I'm curious."

"Consider me unaffiliated. Besides, war's over. It doesn't matter…" but after just a second of hesitation, and a glare that betrayed she'd liked to have shot him, "What about you?"

"You're smart. Sides aren't important, it's who's _winning,_ so you should be able to understand that it's safer to side with Them right now. That is, if you don't want to be experimented on."

"Who's to say that your side will win in the long run? And there's no promise to my friend's safety," she stated. Had she had the ability to transform, they would have been in battle by now.

"Your friend is perfectly safe. The conversion process has an astronomically small failure rate, even for unique species." He was slowly wandering around the hangar at this point, making sure to keep an eye on the truck. It was nice to walk around - he hadn't had the opportunity to in a while. "As for whether They'll win in the long run or not… I don't know. But I have the freedom to get out if they don't, which is more than what _you_ can say right now."

"It's more than Arkanu will have if you go through with her conversion. At least all that's keeping me from my normal self is a transformation inhibitor. She won't have that luxury. But you don't care, because you're with Them. What did you come here for, anyways?"

"Ah, yes. The deal I have for you. You have a couple options. First one is to submit to military service. You could either be a medic like me, or you could scan an aircraft and serve that way. Second option is to be a test subject at another base."

She weighed her options, "And if I choose to scan in an aircraft…?"

"You'd have an additional tracking device installed until you prove yourself, but you'd be trained as an officer."

"Just what I want… to fight in another pointless war," but her tone changed to one that was relatively compliant, "But if you or anyone else lays a finger on Arkanu then I'll personally see to it to slit your throat."

Knockout was quiet for a while, contemplating what to do next. "...fine. You have my word. If you want to go through with scanning an aircraft, I can acquire one for you. You'll have to wait a few hours. Are you sure you wouldn't want to be a medic?"

"I'd sooner kill someone."

"Alright, then. I'll be back later with an aircraft for you. I'd say 'don't go anywhere,' but you can't," he said, shrugging before turning back into his car form, opening the hangar door just enough for him to get out and closing it behind him, making sure it was locked before driving off, more than confused about the encounter he just had. Why would a _medic_ rather command on the front line? It didn't make sense. But he couldn't let it bother him much - there was still a conversion to do and a lot of scrap metal to clear out of the repair ward.

But to do the first of the two things, he needed to find the head mechanic… which was apparently easier said than done. Maybe they had a radio system in place? He scanned through several common channels, eventually stopping on one that looked like it had some activity on it. "...paging the head mechanic of Luke Air Force Base. Is this the right channel?"

A silence. He was about to continue scanning through channels when it crackled to life hesitantly. " _...Rose? Where are you? You've been gone for hours."_ It was the other mechanic. So he _had_ found the right channel.

Another silence. Knockout let the silence drag out, and eventually the channel activated again. " _...I'm trying to get through to Icarus. We can't just leave him here."_

"You're going to have to for now," Knockout said testily. "There's an organic being on this base that needs to be converted, and, correct me if I'm wrong, you're certified to do the procedure."

" _I'm out of practice… it's been at least two hundred years. I don't know if I remember how. Do we even have any vehicles that are prepped for that?"_

Knockout remained silent, waiting for Tony to speak. It took a minute. " _There is a hangar with unused vehicles. It's all the way on the outskirts of the base, right by the fence on the northeast corner. It's the only one out there… I don't know the specifics about what is inside. All I know is that's where they are."_

"So you go from smart-aleck to being more helpful than the head mechanic."

" _I'm sorry… I haven't been here very long. I don't know where everything is yet."_

"Meet me up by that hangar in ten minutes. I don't care if you remember how to do conversions or not, you're going to help me. Other medic-"

" _My name is Tony."_

"Doesn't matter. I'll help you when I get back, but have you at least _tried_ to deactivate your project yet?"

Quiet. " _I was going some cleanup before I deactivated her, so I could give her closure on some things."_

Knockout rolled his eyes. "As long as you're working. Signing off." And with that, he turned his attention away from the radio and back to his surroundings. The hangar wasn't that far away.


	9. Chapter 9

Rose waited in suppressed terror - she'd made it to the hangar before the new medic, trying her hardest to get the lock off the door before he showed up. She didn't have a key.

"Shouldn't you be in there already?" She practically jumped out of her skin, turning to look at the car. "You're the head. You should have the key."

"...we don't use keys anymore," she said quickly, "And this lock is rusted shut anyway. Take a look."

The car did so, moving it with his tire to get a better visual of it. "Hm. You're right. Get away from here, I have an idea."

She reversed as he said, getting a short distance away before she saw him produce a gun out of his hubcap, blasting the lock off its chain.

He grinned, almost menacingly. "No key needed," he said, pushing the doors open - it was slightly annoying having to do this again. Very few doors on this base were automatic. It was going to ruin his paint.

There was no power in this hangar, but Knockout's headlights revealed several lifeless vehicles at their disposal - mostly antique prop aircraft that all looked like they dated back a few hundred years. There were a couple jets, one of which that didn't look like anything he'd ever seen, but another seemed to be an F-16. He'd have to double check the model, but he concluded that would be the plane for the prisoner he just met. Moving a little further into the spacious hangar, he eventually found what he was looking for. Three forklifts were nestled under the wing of one of the older aircraft. "Use one of these. She's a medic, and the other one decided she'd rather be a plane. At least we'll have one."

Rose was quiet for a moment, but then nodded. "Y-yeah." She looked scared and saddened at the same time, which was an odd mix of emotions, but did what she was supposed to anyways, pushing the forklift from behind out into the open.

"Clean it, and then get it over to the other containment hangar, but make sure to cover it first."

"You shouldn't be ordering me around. I could report you."

"You said you didn't remember how to do conversions."

"Do you?"

He was quiet for a second. "It's not my profession, no."

"Then maybe you should do the cleaning, and I'll go refresh myself on what I need to do."

"But I was just detailed yesterday!"

She gave him a look. "...are you actually a medic?"

"Yes. I just care about how I look because Star-" he went quiet for a second, changing the subject. "I'm a car for a reason, and part of that is because I'm not a _normal_ medic."

" _And_ you're a clean freak. Why are you even here?"

"I'm a specialist, and I'm needed to manage one of the prisoners."

She sighed. "Fine. I'll do the cleaning and figure out what I'm doing with this, but _you_ need to go help Tony with deactivating Tera like you said. And you need to make sure _he's_ okay, too, or I'm gonna have another mental breakdown case on my hands."

"Why? I knew he wanted to keep it active, but logistically-"

"He's AI. His main directive was to create another AI, and _that_ AI is Tera. Asking him to deactivate it - her, I think - is asking him to break his own directive."

"He can make another one later. Right now, we need the metal more than we need the aircraft, and it would be too large a burden on the government to rebuild it from scratch. If it'd been a standard model aircraft it'd be a different story, but it's not. Maybe he can use one of the aircraft from in that hangar as a basis. They wouldn't have a problem with that."

"Then you need to tell him that. Go. I don't have any time and neither do you."

"I'll have you know that I don't like being ordered around, either."

"I don't like converting people."

Knockout sighed, annoyed, and drove away to do as he was told. Begrudgingly.

xXx

Rose wished more than anything that she would've taught Tony how to convert organics. She thought the skill was obsolete… apparently not. After spraying down the lifeless forklift with water and leaving it in the sun for a little bit to dry, somehow managing to get through the basic textbook while she waited, she eventually took it over to another hangar - it was smaller, and looked equally abandoned as most of the hangars did on the outskirts of the base. The conversion equipment was already inside, she knew.

The forklift bit her tongue, knowing that the encounter to take place was not going to be pleasant, but knocked lightly on the door anyways, opening it slowly so as to not startle the organic… whatever he or she was. "...hello? Do you understand English at all? No offense."

She sat against the wall, refusing to meet the forklift's gaze. Her accent was heavy, but her English was clear. "You couldn't just leave well enough alone."

"...I wish I could… but there's higher powers. I can't… if I could, I would." She was quiet for a moment, trying to build up the courage to say what she needed to. "...you probably know what's going to happen now. You've been hiding for long enough to know what They make us do."

"Of course, you're under orders. Everyone's always under orders. It doesn't make any of you any less guilty." She rose to her feet, "I won't give you the satisfaction of struggling."

"If it was _my_ life on the line, I wouldn't. You don't understand." She watched the creature in almost anguish, knowing that she was about to destroy her. She didn't want to. She didn't even know if she _could_ anymore. "Just… if you're gonna cooperate, go over there and lay on the table."

She hesitated, but cooperated. "Leave it up to Them to threaten someone else's life if you don't cooperate."

Why was this so hard? Rose tried not to think about it, going back outside for a moment to bring the other forklift into the room. She'd forgotten it. "At least I'm not killing you. It's not taking life." She took the main panel off of the lifeless vehicle, connecting it via a couple of cables to the machine she'd put it next to. As soon as she did, the machine began running a systems check of the vehicle - it would take at least a couple minutes. At least there was no need for extensive wiring anymore. The table itself was wireless, other than a couple restraints she refused to put on the creature until the last possible moment. "They only kill if it's not worth it to keep someone alive."

"And why am I important? I'm nothing to you."

"They're converting anyone captured. Based on what you did with Tera, with what I'm guessing _wasn't_ a lot of resources… They were impressed. This base really needs medics, so They decided that you're going to stay here… there's two of us that know what we're doing right now and hundreds of planes. It's fine during the day, but I can't work 24 hours like Tony can, and he's really not good by himself."

The bird scoffed, "I know what to do with my _hands_ , but you think I can just pick all of that back up if They convert me? I'm more use to them as I am than with my soul shoved into a tin can." She began shuffling nervously as time ticked, but her eyes did not betray her fear. Yet. "If it's usefulness they want, they're making a grave mistake."

"You get used to it after a while… cars have a much harder time than forklifts." The machine made a noise - Rose checked it, closing her eyes and sighing. "It's clear of system and mechanical issues."

"Mind if I look it over?" Ark asked, gesturing towards what would eventually be her new body. "I'll only be a minute."

"If you want to."

At this point Arkanu was simply stalling time, though she did take the time to inspect the machine while still being timely. "It's not in the best condition… you're sure there's not a newer model out there?"

"...that's the best one we had in storage. We haven't had to convert anyone in a while."

Nodding, she stepped away. "I wish I had more time," she said softly, but remained composed. "Is everything ready, then?"

"Unfortunately."

"You'll have to direct me, I don't know how this all works," she said, taking a seat on the table, immediately clutching the edges and fighting back the urge to flee. "I work with machines, not biology."

"...the table itself is wireless. Just… sit still for a minute," Rose said quickly, moving over to her and directing her to lay down, putting the restraints around her wrists and ankles. Her hands were interesting - six fingers, configured in such a way that she figured she could do just about anything in a system without any robotic help. Rose tried bitterly to stop thinking. "The machine still needs to warm up… is there anything else you want to say? Or ask?"

"What does it feel like?" She tugged slightly at the restraints, fear glazing over her eyes. "Waking up, I mean."

"It doesn't hurt," Rose said, visibly uncomfortable with the mention. "It's disorienting… really disorienting… but it doesn't hurt." A notification on the machine told her that it was ready - before she could change her mind, she quickly flipped the switch.


	10. Chapter 10

"I thought you said it'd take a while." When Knockout made it back to the repair ward, he was greeted with a small form covered by a tarp, which was on a flatbed of sorts. Tony was still picking up pieces of the plane, putting them on the flatbed as well. He looked almost numb, more than anything else. It was to be expected of an earth AI, though.

"It _is_ taking a while. Look at all the stuff I still have on the floor."

"No… shutting it down."

"She wanted to be dead when she heard that _you_ were coming back."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, was there anything else you needed help with?"

"If you can _stand_ getting a little bit dirty, these pieces need to be picked up and put on the cart. Just don't move the tarp. It's not pretty."

He sighed, annoyed. "Fine." He went over to one part, pushing it over to the cart with his tire before picking it up with his teeth and putting it on the cart. Out of curiosity and suspicion, he proceeded to pull the tarp off of the corpse.

He deeply regretted it. It looked like scrap one would find on a battlefield. Yuck.

"I told you not to look under there."

"It looks so much worse when it's not active."

"Yeah. Look, if you're not gonna help, I can do this by myself. It doesn't matter."

"Rose wanted me to make sure _you_ were okay, too, though."

"As in?"

"You deactivated your only project."

"Other than a burning dislike of you _and_ the new head of the base, I'm fine."

"There were a lot of unused aircraft in that hangar. You could use one to make another."

"Only to be demanded to deactivate it again, I assume."

Knockout practically growled, grabbing another piece of the aircraft and moving it. "For an AI, you're _particularly_ disagreeable." As soon as he said it, however, he immediately realized what it was he said… he wished he could take it back.

He shot a glare at him. "You know, put it this way. My _directive_ was essentially to build Tera. You come in here and start saying how worthless she is, and then you proceeded to convince the head of the base that she needed to be deactivated, and _look_. I did what you said. I think I can be as disagreeable as I want, because you'd probably rather _this_ to a malfunctioning medic. I _could_ make myself glitch if you'd like. You've given me more than enough reason to. Oops, I forgot... I'm not supposed to know I'm AI, am I?"

The car was silent, unable to counter. He just continued to move pieces over to the flatbed, one by one, taking care not to scratch his paint in the process. Why exactly They allowed this base to continue to function was beyond him, _and_ they were somehow continuing to expand the number of aircraft housed there. _How?_


End file.
